A different end for a new beginning
by dechagny1
Summary: What if Harry didn't master the Deathly Hallows and had to sacrifice himself to defeat Voldemort? And what if Hermione saved Professor Snape's life in more ways than one? Rated M for a reason – this will get steamy at some point. Heavy BDSM to be expected. SS/HG, lemons.
1. Chapter 1

This story is mostly canon up to Professor Snape's death. Some exceptions will be made to fit the story. The first one being a house in Cambridge the trio used as a base (which obviously didn't exist in the books).

English isn't my native language, apologies in advance for any mistakes

All characters belong to JK Rowling.

„It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. „I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."

And Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. It did nothing to Snape, who for a split second seemed to think he had been reprieved: but then Voldemort's intention became clear. The snake's cage was rolling through the air, and before Snape could do anything more than yell, it had encased him, head and shoulders, and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue.

„ _Kill._ _"_

There was a terrible scream. Hermione saw Snape's face losing the little colour it had left, it whitened as his black eyes widened, as the snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor, blood gushing from the wounds in his neck. Voldemort swept from the room without a backwards glance, and the great serpent floated after him in its huge protective sphere.

Back in the tunnel and her own mind, Hermione opened her eyes: she had drawn blood, biting down on her knuckles in the effort not to shout out. Now she was looking through the tiny crack between crate and wall, watching a foot in a black boot trembling on the floor.

„Hermione!" breathed Harry behind her, but she had already pointed her wand at the crate blocking her view. It lifted an inch into the air and drifted sideways, silently. As quietly as she could, she pulled herself up into the room.

She did not know why she was doing it, why she was approaching the dying man: she did not know what she felt as she saw Snape's white face, and the fingers trying to staunch the bloody wound at his neck. His widening black eyes found Hermione as he tried to speak. Hermione bent over him; and Snape seized the front of her robes and pulled her close.

A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from Snape's throat.

„Give … it … to … him …"

Something more than blood was leaking from Snape. Silvery blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed from his mouth and his ears and his eyes, and Hermione knew what it was and knew exactly what to do – she took a flask from her bag and lifted the silvery substance into it with her wand. When the flask was full to the brim, and Snape looked as though there was no blood left in him, his grip on Hermione's robes slackened.

„Look … at … me …" he whispered.

The brown eyes found the black, but after a second something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank and empty.

Hermione stopped breathing for a second and then something in her snapped.

„Take this!" she screamed, shoving the flask into Harry's hand. She took her wand out and cast a spell to extract the venom from Snape's body, holding his neck wound at the same time. Little whitish green droplets seemed to leave his skin where it wasn't covered by his robes, and then vanished into thin air. The professor's body started convulsing.

"Dittany" muttered Hermione, thinking about what she should do next.

"What the hell are you doing…" started Ron.

"DITTANY! NOW!" she shouted, at the same time slashing her arm open and muttering another spell that started transferring her blood into the vein on Snape's right arm. She was a universal donor and he needed blood fast, before all of his organs started shutting down.

Harry's arm thrust a flask in front of her face, but she didn't want to either stop the transfusion or let go of the professor's neck. She looked up into her friend's eyes and pleaded: "Help me. He can be useful to us; he has a lot of information about Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Hermione saw Harry contemplate for a second if he wanted to help Dumbledore's killer, but logic won over and he poured 5 drops of Dittany just above Hermione's hand. The moment she moved it, the potion closed off the wound, leaving an enormous scar behind.

Suddenly Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and floor, and Hermione realised that he was talking to Hogwarts and to all the surrounding area, that the residents of Hogsmeade and all those still fighting in the castle would hear him as clearly as if he stood beside them, his breath on the back of their necks, a death blow away.

„You have fought," said the high, cold voice, „valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery.

„Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.

„Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat, immediately.

„You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

„I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Hermione was feeling faint from the transfusion, but she saw Ron shaking his head frantically, looking at Harry.

„Don't listen to him," said Ron.

„It'll be all right," said Hermione wildly. „You need to get back to the castle, if he's gone to the Forest you'll need to think of a new plan –„

„What about you?" asked Ron. "We're not leaving you here with him"

"Look at him Ron, he can't even wake up, let alone harm me" said Hermione, her forehead covered with cold sweat. "I need to keep him alive, because the next hour will be critical. I'll then tie him up and move him to our base in Cambridge. It's the only one that was never discovered."

"Are you sure he's worth it, Hermione?" asked Harry. "We might need you."

"Yeah, and how do you expect to move him there?" added Ron. "It's not like there are any portkeys or fireplaces you can floo out of".

"Ron, don't you get it? Any protective spells Hogwarts had were destroyed tonight. I can apparate with him once he's stable. You'll be fine on your own, just don't do anything stupid" she whispered, her heart filled with dread. She had a very bad feeling deep in her stomach, but tried to push it down.

"It might be worth going to Dumbledore's office and checking what Snape's memories contain. He was just attacked by Voldemort and he might have given you something that will help you defeat him."

"Yeah, it's worth trying. We'll meet you in Cambridge after all this is over?" asked Harry, his voice slightly trembling.

"Of course! I'll try to get some information out of him until you get there" said Hermione. "If this doesn't end tonight, we'll need all the help we can get."

"It ends tonight," whispered Harry. "One way or another"

He gathered up the Invisibility Cloak, then turned to Hermione.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked. "No matter what happens, I want you to remember that I love you."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears. "I love you too" her voice trembled. "You'll get through this. You're the boy who lives."

Harry smiled faintly, threw the Invisibility cloak over him and Ron and they crawled back through the tunnel.

Hermione could still hear Voldemort's voice ringing in her head. She tried to push it away by concentrating on the task at hand. Professor Snape's breathing was shallow and his face was as pale as she'd ever seen it. Her blood was still flowing to his vein and she was starting to get really dizzy.

"You'd better be worth it, you greasy bastard" she muttered to herself.


	2. Chapter 2 - The devastating truth

Sorry it has taken so long for me to write chapter 2, but this is my first fanfic and it's going much slower than I thought.

This chapter is from Snape's point of view and although nothing very exciting happens in it, I wanted to see how this initial showdown will pan out.

And yeah, Severus was never in love with Lily, she was simply his best friend. I don't want Hermione to have any competition for his heart :)

If anyone can comment and tell me how one can get a beta reader, I'll be extremely grateful.

 _You're tearing us,_

 _You're breaking us,_

 _You're carrying us,_

 _You're saving us._

*Serj Tankian*

Severus woke up feeling exhausted and disoriented. There was a throbbing pain in all of his muscles and his stomach was cramping as if he'd eaten Nearly Headless Nick's spoiled fish. His mouth tasted like rusty knuts, but when he traced his gums with his tongue, he couldn't feel any bleeding. He opened his eyes and looked around.

He was in a dark living room, the only light coming from a fireplace to the left of him. It was big enough for a person to step in, so the logical conclusion was that this was a wizard's home. The wall around the fireplace and the one directly opposite Severus were covered in books from floor to heavy curtains on the window to the right of him were closed, but there was no light coming from under them, which meant it was still nighttime. The room itself was scarcely furnished - a glass oval coffee table covered in books, stacks of parchments, quills and a Daily Prophet from three months ago; a shabby sofa and two armchairs, one of which Severus was sitting on.

He tried to think about how he got there, but the last thing he remembered was being at Hogwarts, trying to fight on the side of the Order without his fellow Death Eaters realizing it. He had to stun a couple of his former colleagues to keep the pretence up, at the same time giving them the chance to get out of there alive. Then Severus remember being called by Voldemort, having a conversation with him and…

He tried reaching to his neck with his hand, feeling Nagini's teeth sinking into his flesh, but couldn't move his arm. In fact, his whole body felt as if it was glued to the black leather of the armchair. Severus tried yanking at his invisible restraints, but it was useless - he could only move his head. He had no idea how he had survived, but no matter who had saved him, he knew he was in for a world of hurt. Not that he cared, pain was something he was very used to, but he'd seen even the toughest wizards break under the Cruciatus curse and he had plenty of useful information for both sides.

Severus felt wetness on his chest and considering the coppery smell, it seemed that his robe was soaked with his own blood. His right sleeve was torn and he could see a fresh wound on his arm which he didn't remember getting. What the hell had happened to him?

He suddenly heard steps coming towards him - there was a door on the other side of the room he hadn't noticed before. He saw a woman's silhouette entering the room and when she approached, he was surprised to see it was Hermione Granger, wearing jeans, black army boots and a black sweater with a weird green circular logo above her left breast. There was a bruise forming under her right eye and Severus noticed that she had a wound similar to his on her left arm. Her hair was tied in a disheveled high ponytail, some curls having escaped and cascading down the nape of her neck.

Granger looked exhausted - her face was almost as pale as his and was covered in blood - whether it was her own, Severus wasn't sure. Her eyes were full of life though, quickly scanning him from head to toe. She nodded to herself as if she was satisfied with what she saw and quickly moved into the room, sitting on the sofa next to Severus. She threw her wand on the glass table and reached into one of her sweater pockets, taking out 2 Snickers bars.

She unwrapped both, took a huge bite of one them and shoved the other in front of Severus' face. "Eat," she said, chewing at the same time.

"It's not polite to talk with a full mouth, Miss Granger," said Severus, just to see her reaction. "Or have you forgotten all of your manners since you left Hogwarts?"

Granger swallowed and pushed the chocolate bar towards him once again. "You can eat this willingly, or I can shove it down your throat," she said calmly. Her mouth then formed a thin line, which reminded him of Minerva. Severus hoped she'd survived the battle, because even though he couldn't exactly call her a friend, he'd always considered her to be brilliant and extremely loyal.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Severus knew Granger wasn't going to budge. She'd always been stubborn, even as a child. Instead of fighting with her, he bit into the chocolate bar and almost immediately felt warmth spread throughout his body. It was almost as if he could feel the magic of the sweet substance destroying the last remnants of poison in his system.

While he was chewing, Severus thought about his situation and his options. Why had she saved him? If she'd wanted to hurt him or get revenge for what he'd done to Dumbledore and her friends back at Hogwarts, she would've simply left him to die. Even though she had a mischievous streak, she'd alway been a goody two-shoes, which also meant that torturing him for information was out of the question. What did she want then? He knew she'd had crush on him when she was still in school, but killing Dumbledore and joining Voldemort would've erased that from her mind.

Severus looked at her face, trying to read her. It looked like she was deep in thought, her arm moving to feed him almost mechanically. He tried using Legilimency on her, softly probing the edges of her mind, but it seemed Granger was successful in learning what Potter never could - shielding her thoughts. He could force himself through the walls she'd built in her consciousness if he wanted to, but he was tied to an armchair and without a wand - pushing his luck didn't seem like a good idea.

"Alright, time to talk," Granger said once they were finished eating, throwing the empty wrappers on the floor between the sofa and the table. She turned her body to face Severus, leaning to the left, so her arm rested on the back of the sofa.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking once again around the dark room.

Granger was silent for a minute, as if deciding what she should tell him. "We're in a house in Cambridge. It's one of the bases we used while we were on the run. The owner," she pointed to a photo on a small round table between the armchair and the sofa - it was of an elderly wizard holding a weird-looking dog, "was killed by Yaxley before he could officially join the Order."

The trio had been gone for almost a year. There were always rumors about their whereabouts circling around, but with the exception of the fiascos in Malfoy manor and Gringotts, no one could confirm where they were. Severus had managed to track them only once, but after he gave them the sword of Gryffindor, he wasn't able to locate them again. He wanted to ask Granger if they'd managed to destroy all Horcruxes, but he needed to be patient. He was going to find out eventually and right now it was better to let her do most of the talking.

"I guess he was one of thousands who won't live to see the end of this war." she said. Her tone wasn't exactly flippant, but she sounded as if she'd come to terms with death and it didn't bother her anymore. This made Severus feel uneasy.

"Why did you kill Dumbledore?" she asked, getting straight to the point. "He trusted you and had us all convinced you were on the side of the Order."

Severus thought for a second what he should say. "I don't think you're ready to hear the truth about his death."

"Don't patronize me," she seethed. "You have no idea what I've been through. I'm not that little bookworm you loved pushing around anymore."

"I'm not saying you're not grown-up enough, Miss Granger, it's apparent you're not a child," he said, intentionally looking at her chest, trying to make her uncomfortable. It seemed he succeeded, because she crossed her arms to hide herself from his gaze. The more unbalanced she was, the better he could control the situation. "I'm just saying you won't believe me, even if I told you the truth."

"Try me," she said defiantly.

"I killed him because he asked me to."

Granger was silent for a moment, arching her brow. "Care to elaborate?"

Severus sighed, knowing any attempts to persuade her of his innocence would be futile. "He was cursed at the beginning of the school year," he said, omitting the information about the ring. She probably knew about it, but he wasn't about to give her the upper hand by divulging too much. "He was dying anyway and asked me to kill him, so that Draco wouldn't have to."

"You're right, I don't believe you. But not because I'm biased, it simply doesn't make any sense. We knew that something was going on. But the curse, even if it was one, was spreading at a very slow rate. Why would Dumbledore sacrifice his life for Malfoy, when he could've lived and helped Harry destroy…" She fell silent.

"The horcruxes, Miss Granger?"

She stood up and bent down, so she was face to face with Severus. "He trusted you! He gave you crucial information! He confided in you!" She poked his chest with her finger after every sentence. "Did you run back to Voldemort and tell him everything? He was on to us - hiding the cup, not letting Nagini out of his sight… it was you all along."

Severus was starting to get pissed off too. He leaned his head forward, so his nose was almost touching hers. "I didn't have to tell him anything. Potter was an open book, he never learned Occlumency, no matter how many times Dumbledore told him it's important. The Dark Lord got his own private screening of his thoughts every once in a while, which was enough to put two and two together. Not to mention that destroying the locket in front of Potter, knowing he was connected to Voldemort in ways none of you could figure out, wasn't your brightest idea. If the boy had applied himself for once, not expecting for everything to come to him on a silver platter, maybe finding the rest of the Horcruxes wouldn't have been so difficult."

"Oh, that's total bullshit!" she said, starting to pace around the room. "You hated Harry from the first moment he set foot in Hogwarts. You wanted him to die, because his father played some stupid prank on you when you were still kids."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you insolent chit," said Severus, his blood starting to boil.

Granger looked taken aback for a second. "What did you give Harry?"

"What do you mean what I gave him?" he asked confused.

"The memories? What was in the memories you made me collect from you after you were bit?"

Suddenly Severus realized what she was talking about. He didn't remember it, but he must've given Dumbledore's instructions to Potter. The boy was about to die. It was over. Severus had done what needed to be done.

"You gave him your memories," she pushed, "And I need to know what was in them."

"Does it really matter? You don't seem to be very receptive of anything I tell you and you'll eventually find out." he said.

"It doesn't really matter to me, but it does to you - depending on what you gave him, you'll either spend the rest of your miserable life in Azkaban or your soul will be sucked out by the dementors. You know, now that I think of it, maybe I would've done you a kindness by leaving you to die."

"Oh, so no happy end for this Potions master?" he asked sarcastically. "You seem awfully sure that the dementors will be on your side at the end of this."

"I believe in Harry and that he'll do whatever's necessary. The dementors have always been self-serving and they won't stick with the losing side. So which is it? Did you want to get revenge on Voldemort or did you stay loyal to him till the end, even though he disposed of you like common trash?" She paused and Severus could almost see the cogs in her brain clicking into place. "Considering how loyal you were to Dumbledore, I'm pretty sure you turned on your Master the moment Nagini attacked."

Severus was getting tired of fighting with her. He looked at the fireplace, the small fire in it throwing flickering lights on the plush brown carpet in front of it. He had tried so hard to save Potter, year after year. He'd even gone back to the Dark Lord on Dumbledore's orders, not knowing that all along the Headmaster's plan was for the boy to die. Potter was too noble for his own good and Severus was sure that he would sacrifice himself once he saw the memories. He would do it for his friends - to give them the peaceful and happy life he never had. _I tried_ , Severus thought to himself, _I really tried, but it was never meant to be_.

Dumbledore had raised the boy as a pig for slaughter. He had left him with his muggle relatives, not caring about the boy's happiness or well-being, but making sure he had the protection of Lily's blood until he went to Hogwarts. He'd watched as the boy faced death time and time again, honing him into the weapon the Headmaster needed him to be. Then he'd left the boy with the impossible task to find and destroy all Horcruxes, not sharing with Potter that he was the last one. Dumbledore wanted the him to have hope, to fight for his life until it was time to give that hope up and die to save the whole wizarding world.

"So, aren't you going to say something?" asked Granger exasperated, yanking Severus back to reality. There was no point in lying to her anymore.

"You're right. I gave Potter information about how to defeat the Dark Lord," he replied, meeting her gaze again. "I gave him the last piece of the puzzle - the one Dumbledore hid from you."

"Why would he hide something from us?"

Severus suspected she'd known all along. Granger had only needed to write one essay on werewolves to figure out Lupin was one. Potter on the other hand spoke parseltongue and had a link to Voldemort's mind. Not admitting it to herself was simply a self-preservation mechanism and Severus didn't want to be the one to confirm her suspicions. No matter what she thought of him, he would never intentionally hurt her. Her only faults were her brattiness, her know-it-all attitude and her association with Potter and Weasley. Ok, maybe she had a lot of flaws, but still...

"I think you know why. Every time a wizard kills someone, their souls is splintered. Voldemort had destroyed his soul by the time he went to Godric's hollow. He didn't intend to do it, but..."

Granger's eyes got big with realization. "Harry's a horcrux," she whispered to herself as if saying it out loud would make it somehow more true. Then she looked at Severus, her eyes pleading.

He couldn't give her what she wanted. He couldn't tell her everything was going to be OK, that her friend would survive this. Severus also couldn't tell her that her life would ever be the same again. He knew all too well what it was to lose your best friend, to feel helpless and not be able to save them. You could eventually learn to live with it, but a tiny part of your own soul was gone forever.

"Yes, he is." he said, looking directly into her eyes.

Granger's mouth opened in a silent scream. She looked frantically around, not knowing what to do. Then she started pacing, holding her head in her hands and shaking it back and forth, while muttering to herself. Severus recognized her fight or flight instinct kicking in. He knew that she was probably running a hundred scenarios in her head, each of them more improbable than the other. She was trying to find a way to save her friend, thinking about books shehad read, spells she could use and research she could do. That had always been her MO.

All of it was in vain though. If Potter didn't follow Dumbledore's instructions and didn't die at the end of Voldemort's wand tonight, he would eventually need to be killed anyway. At the same time he would be hunted by any Death Eater that survived and the whole wizarding world would be in danger. No amount of book smarts in the world could change that.

"I have to get back there," she said, her voice shaking. She looked at the circular clock hanging above the fireplace. "It's been a little over than an hour, so I probably have some time. We'll kill Voldemort and worry about the horcrux later."

"You know there's nothing you can do, Hermione." Severus realized that subconsciously he was trying to get to her, which is why he used her first name. It even worked for a second, she stopped pacing and looked at him. Her breathing was labored from the panic attack she was seconds away from. Severus wanted to be free, so he could shake her. "This is a lost cause, don't put your life in danger by going back. You said it yourself, enough people have died already in this senseless war and there is no point in you being one of them." The selfish side in him also knew that she was his only chance of survival. Severus needed her alive.

Granger suddenly straightened up, her eyes determined. "You're wrong!" she almost shouted. She grabbed her wand from the table, pointed it at Severus and muttered a spell. He opened his mouth to object, but no sound came out. The restraints on his arms and legs tightened, but this time he couldn't even move his head. He could only watch as the witch disapparated.


End file.
